Great Work Happening on the Great Meadow Loop


Trail Improvements Designed to Enhance Visitor Experience and Withstand Climate Change Impacts

BY LAUREN GIBSON

Get ready! There are a lot of plans for the Great Meadow Loop trail this summer and beyond. The work will enhance recreation by making the trails safer, more accessible, and better able to endure climate change impacts.

This work is part of the larger story for the Great Meadow Wetland. Great Meadow is facing climate challenges that are part of our reality now: more intense storms that bring significant precipitation, more time in between rain events resulting in droughts, warmer average air temperatures, and an increase in invasive species.

The Great Meadow is experiencing extreme conditions; it can seem almost desert-like with dry, cracked soils or completely under water following large rain events.

After one flood event, water in the Great Meadow froze solid, turning the wetland into a temporary ice-skating rink. While that was a unique experience for those who skated through the wetland with a majestic view of Dorr Mountain, it highlights the lack of functionality of the wetland and associated infrastructure to handle weather conditions that are predicted to become more frequent.

Improvements to the aging infrastructure within Great Meadow are set to begin winter/spring 2025: an undersized culvert along the Park Loop Road will be replaced with a larger box culvert. This new culvert will allow for more water to exit the wetland during large rain events, but also retain water
and reduce the drought conditions that the wetland has been experiencing.

“Improvements in hydrology from the new culvert should have cascading effects in the health and function of the Great Meadow,” said Jason Flynn, environmental protection specialist at Acadia National Park. “Some of these improvements, such as water levels and improved access to recreation, will be immediate. Others, such as increased habitat diversity and improved carbon sequestration, will take much longer.”

A trail crew from the Appalachian Mountain Club works on a new section of trail that will connect the Great
Meadow Loop along the south side of the Park Loop Road. (Photo by Lauren Gibson/Friends of Acadia)

Trail Relocation for Increased Safety and Unobstructed Views

While the culvert will improve the hydrology of the wetland, the associated trail work will enhance the visitor experience.

As part of the culvert-replacement project, the Great Meadow Loop trail will be moved from the north side of the Park Loop Road, where it now runs alongside Kebo Valley Golf Course, to the south side of the Loop Road between Kebo Street and Great Meadow Drive.

Pedestrians will have unobstructed views of Dorr Mountain as they walk along the meadow. Great Meadow Loop, Jesup Path, and Hemlock Path will become a walkable loop that does not require users to interact with the Park Loop Road at all. This trail relocation began last fall when a crew from the Appalachian Mountain Club developed most of the new trail on the south side.

The trail will not officially be open or completely connected, however, until the culvert replacement is complete.

Crosswalks will also be added at the intersections of Kebo Street, Great Meadow Drive, and the Park Loop Road, aligning them with modern federal highway standards. Other safety improvements will include signage and roadway markings like what is now seen near Thunder Hole or Jordan Pond.

A bridge on the Great Meadow Loop trail crosses over a marshy area across from the Great Meadow, on the other side of Park Loop Road. (Photo by Sam Mallon/Friends of Acadia)

Hemlock Path Also Gets a Makeover

Trail work along the Hemlock Path is also scheduled for this summer.

Currently, the Hemlock Path creates a barrier for water flow through the wetland. During high water events, the path floods, rendering it inaccessible until water subsides.

Purges will be built in the existing Hemlock Path to restore natural hydrology, reduce flooding, and improve connectivity. There is also a concrete low area along the trail that will be removed.

While both ends of the path will largely remain as they are now, the center of the trail will resemble the Jesup Path: a boardwalk-style trail elevated above the purges. These changes will not only make the trail more accessible during weather events, but it will also comply with current Americans with
Disabilities Act standards.

The Appalachian Mountain Club trail crew works on a new section of trail that will connect the Great Meadow Loop.(Photo by Lauren Gibson/Friends of Acadia)

Connecting to Bar Harbor

The section of the Great Meadow Loop that runs outside of the park was one of the first Friends of Acadia Village Connector Trails constructed in partnership with Acadia National Park. The trail encourages people to walk from the village of Bar Harbor into Acadia and is only possible through access generously granted by the private landowners who allow the trail to cross their land.

Currently along the trail, a pedestrian may come across pooling water in a low spot, an exposed culvert, or tripping hazards. In certain spots, the connector trail requires users to walk on the road before reconnecting to the next portion of off-road trail.

The ultimate goal is to have a contiguous, well-marked trail that does not require the use of any roads, thus improving visitor safety. Friends of Acadia will continue to work with private landowners and the Town of Bar Harbor to create new routes through these road-based sections.

We hope that trail improvements encourage users to get out on these trails to
to experience and appreciate the wildlife, plants, and splendor that the Great Meadow Wetland has to offer.

Great Meadow Loop trail, a Village Connector Trail, which can be accessed from Cromwell Harbor Road in Bar Harbor. (Photo by Sam Mallon/Friends of Acadia)


LAUREN GIBSON is Friends of Acadia’s Wild Acadia Coordinator.